An Interview with Print Club Boston

When I saw Print Club Boston featured on A Jealous Curator last month, I really wanted to learn more about what they were all about, especially being in Boston! Founder and artist, Liz Corkery, agreed to answer some of my questions. Thanks, Liz, and be sure to visit the Print Club Boston and the first edition: The Grid, The Trellis.

Tell us about your background and how you started Print Club Boston. I’m originally from Sydney, Australia and have been living in the US for just on 5 years. Before Boston I was in Brooklyn and most recently in Ithaca, NY where I finished my MFA. The idea for Print Club was kind of born back when I had just graduated from art school in Sydney. I had just finished 4 years making prints and having access to all the great facilities my school had on offer, then immediately lost access to all that after graduating. I decided that I wanted to one day open up a community print shop that allowed for membership and gave access to equipment that people would otherwise have difficulty sourcing. The webstore and printed editions I have just launched are the first piece of the Print Club puzzle, next is finding the right location and space for the community print facilities, hopefully we’ll be opening somewhere in Boston late this year.

What is the process for selecting and creating the editions?

I’m generally really fascinated by the idea of depicting a world on a flat page. I am often seeking strategies for alluding to space while remaining beholden to the reality of the two-dimensional picture. Because I am producing each set simultaneously I can really investigate a certain theme across the series of prints. The first collection, The Grid, The Trellis is based around the structural geometry of the garden trellis which I think simultaneously addresses the potential for fertile, organic expansion and the unnatural geometric structure of the grid.

What inspires you – personally and for your art?

I’m inspired by all sorts of things. I love to travel and have had a long-standing fascination with the opulence and narrative of European palace architecture. I also really enjoy visiting contemporary art galleries and see how different artists present their work and address the gallery environment.

What has been your biggest success? Your biggest failure?

I like to think the biggest success is yet to come! As far as the biggest failure, it’s perhaps more of a regret and it would probably be not learning how to code. I would love to have the technical ability to bring some of my web-based ideas to life. Perhaps there is still time!

Tell us what is next for Print Club Boston.

In March Print Club Boston will be taking part an in a great event called Somerville Skillshare which will basically take the creative short-course structure of the Skillshare website and turn it into a day-long event. We will be making some beautiful prints with participants. Our editions are released as collections, so I will soon begin thinking about the next series that will launch in the middle of the year. I’m also beginning to think about invited artists and designers to collaborate with on some limited edition prints during the year, hopefully some local, creative Bostonians. And of course we will be trying to track down the new location for Print Club Boston HQ, all suggestions welcome!